Suncorp declares core banking overhaul complete

Suncorp has declared its Oracle-based Project Ignite core banking overhaul complete, celebrating a relatively on-time and on-budget delivery bar two last pieces of the puzzle.

The bank had scheduled completion for the new platform for July this year, and today revealed the platform was up and running for customer, collateral, collections, and loan origination processes.

It has still yet to move deposits and transaction banking over to the Oracle-based platform, which will occur over the next few months.

The platform was set live last November for unsecured personal loans. The group opted to take a staggered approach to releases until the July completion date - with the least difficult areas of the business tackled first - to reduce risk.

Project Ignite involved the rationalisation of the bank’s product set by half, the decommissioning of 12 legacy systems, and re-engineering of 580 processes.

It is still working its way through the decommissioning efforts, which will be completed in FY17, having already switched off legacy collections, personal lending origination, and collateral systems. Suncorp said it expected its cost to income ratio to be driven below 50 percent as a result.

"The full benefits of Ignite will be realised in future periods with future data migration, process decentralisation, and additonal legacy system decommissioning," Suncorp said during its FY16 results briefing today.

The total project costs of Ignite as at the full fiscal year 2016 were $330 million, Suncorp said, with $290 million of that capitalised. The bank has previously said it expects to capitalise 80 percent of the project's total bill.

"The new core banking platform has delivered a simplified and resilient technology infrastructure," the group said.

"It provides agility and decreased time to market for new products and offerings, including the delivery of innovative and digitised banking services."

This would position the bank well to participate in "disruption and develop propositions that increase customer value", it said.

"Building new digital services and accelerating investment in internet banking and mobile applications will enable the group to rationalise and modernise its network of stores."

Project Ignite is the legacy of former chief information officer Matt Pancino, who in April announced he would depart to the Commonwealth Bank from September.

From next month, the group's IT team will be led by former Medibank CIO Sarah Harland.